Ever since I saw this delicious looking cake on Peabody’s blog, I knew I absolutely had to try it. However, I have no way of obtaining any peanut butter dulce de leche so I put it off. Also, I had to wait for the right occasion to make such a huge cake, as we would never be able to eat the whole thing ourselves and I could not stand for it to go bad. Last night my brother and his girlfriend came over for dinner so I decided it was the perfect opportunity to give it a try. I sent the majority of it home with him, since college boys eat anything and his roommates love when I make them food. Since I couldn’t use the peanut butter dulce de leche I decided to forego the peanut butter altogether and went for just a banana-caramel combo. I used cream cheese frosting rather than a buttercream because it sounded awesome to me – and oh, it was. It really was. It is safe to say this was enjoyed by all, and I made sure to save enough so that Ben and I could have it for a few more nights :P
Banana Caramel Cake
Ingredients:
8 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
8 oz. mascarpone cheese
1 ½ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup mashed bananas
¼ cup buttermilk
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ recipes cream cheese frosting
caramel sauce
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350°. Grease and flour a 9×13” cake pan or spray with nonstick baking spray.
Cream together the butter, mascarpone and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition. Add vanilla extract and mix for another 30 seconds. Add banana and buttermilk. Mix together all dry ingredients. Then add to the sugar mixture. Mix until combined.
Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Cool in pan, then remove cake to wire rack to cool completely.
For assembly, cut the cake in half into two long, equal rectangles. Place one half onto serving platter. Cover the top of the layer with cream cheese frosting. Top with 3-4 spoonfuls of caramel sauce and spread it over the top. Place the remaining cake layer on top of the caramel sauce. Frost the outside of the cake with the remaining cream cheese frosting. Drizzle caramel sauce on top before serving.
Source: cake adapted from Culinary Concotions by Peabody, frosting from Confections of a Foodie Bride
